Sunday, December 3, 2023

Dairy County, Not Chic

Shelley with her dogs
at her farm in upstate New York, 1979

Shelley became a Supermodel in the mid 1970s and was one of the highest-paid models in the modeling world. She appeared in countless magazines and newspapers and did interviews left and right. She was known throughout the world as THE Charlie Girl and was making a fortune for herself and for Charlie perfume. "My father encouraged me to invest my money," she recalled. So Shelley put her earnings into a 244-acre farm in Catskill, New York. "It's dairy county, not chic," she told People magazine in 1979. She renovated the place herself. And, there, she smoked fish, grew vegetables, flowers, herbs and roots; she pressed her own cider; she made her own preservatives jams, jellies and chutneys; and she baked her own bread and pies. "It's a nice contrast to put on my barn clothes and go out and slosh," Shelley explained. She used it as a weekend retreat - away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Shelley with her dog
at her farm in upstate New York, 1979